Nashville, TN Noise from Specific Sources: Bar & Nightclub Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Interior speaker limit (business hours)
- 85 Db(A) at 50 feet
- Interior speaker limit (after hours)
- 70 Db(A) at 50 feet
- Exterior speakers
- Banned outright in DTC/CF zone
- Live music
- Exempt from the decibel cap
- Applies to
- DTC district and contiguous CF parcels
Summary
Downtown bars and nightclubs are capped at 85 Db(A) measured 50 feet from the building during business hours, dropping to 70 Db(A) after hours; live music is exempt from the cap, but exterior speakers are banned outright.
It shall be unlawful for interior speakers of an establishment during business operating hours regardless of speaker orientation to produce sounds registering more than 85 decibels (A weighted) ("Db(A)"), as measured at street level fifty linear feet from the outside wall of the structure within which the noise is produced. Other than during business operating hours, it shall be unlawful for any establishment to operate or allow the operation of interior speakers producing sounds registering more than 70 Db(A) at or on the boundary of the nearest public right-of-way or park. For purposes of this subsection, "business operating hours" means the hours during which an establishment is open to customers or patrons, or a musical act is tuning their instruments for the purposes of performing during business operating hours.
3. All prerecorded music shall be limited to the 85 Db(A), regardless of the source including, but not limited to: vinyl records, compact disks, digital video disks, digital audio players, hard drives, solid state memory, tape drives, radio sets or television sets. Such sound measurement shall be taken at street level fifty linear feet from the outside wall of the structure within which the noise is produced. Notwithstanding the foregoing, live music is expressly exempt from the 85 Db(A) limitation. Live music shall mean that musicians, instruments and singers will not be prerecorded.
4.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 53 | Charter: Republication 9).
Full Breakdown
Metro's noise title creates a separate regime for bars and nightclubs in the Downtown Code (DTC) zoning district and adjoining CF-zoned parcels contiguous to it: exterior-mounted amplification is banned outright, and interior speakers can't exceed 85 Db(A) measured at street level 50 feet from the building during business operating hours, dropping to 70 Db(A) after close. Prerecorded music, vinyl, CDs, digital files, radio, TV, is held to the same 85 Db(A) ceiling, but live, non-prerecorded performances are expressly exempt from the decibel limit. Outside the DTC/CF zone, bars instead fall under the general rule barring any sound amplification plainly audible from the nearest residentially occupied property line.
Violations & Fines
Metro Police, NDOT, and Codes and Building Safety enforce the noise title; Metro's general Code penalty applies when a section sets no specific fine: up to $50, with every day a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Nashville bars run outdoor speakers on Broadway?
Does live music at a Nashville bar have a decibel limit?
What about bars outside downtown Nashville?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Nashville
Compare Nashville to another location·View the Tennessee noise from specific sources overview
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